NEW (AGAIN)- Thunderspire Labyrinth- Stat analysis #25 Shrine to Baphomet

Sergeytov said:

Wow. First of all, like so many others, this is a pretty cool thread, and I'm curious as to what happens next.

Secondly, my brain is trying to think what I'd do in this situation, since it seems like there's a lack of 'retreat powers' that I can immediately recall, especially at that level.

Good to see players smart enough to run, though.

Click to expand...

As you asked so nicely what happens next then I'll tell you...

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #8 Area 4 Chieftain's Lair & Area 3 Excavation Site

Round #10.

Grey- Ray of Frost GD1; Miss. Run out the door and back down the corridor to Guard Chamber (Area 1).

Winstanley- Positioning Strike GD1; Hit 12 damage (7 HP bloodied) & Slide 3 squares backwards. Run. AoO Combat Advantage GD2; Miss. Back to Guard Chamber (Area 1).

GS1- DEAD.

GS2- Move. Crossbow Kaspard; Hit 8 damage (11 HP bloodied).

GS3- Move. Charge Kaspard; Miss.

GW1- DEAD.

GW2- DEAD.

GW3- DEAD.

GW4- DEAD.

GW5- SURRENDER. He runs away.

Balgron- Stays where he is and screams for the Goblins to chase and 'go after them- kill 'em.'
.
Dirty- Carrying Phrenic. Double Run and straight through the Guard Chamber (Area 1) and up the stairs and out of the dungeon.

Kaspard- Shift away. Run. Action Point. Ready Action- Beacon of Hope when first bad guy appears.

Phrenic- Death Save- '17' Success.

GD1- On 7 HP and very bloodied, the Drake gives up the chase.

GD2- Move. Charge Winstanley- Readied Action- Kaspard Daily Beacon of Hope; Hit GD2 Weakened & 8 HP Healing to- Winstanley (17 HP) & Kaspard (19 HP). Charge Winstanley; Miss.

GC1- DEAD.

GC2- DEAD.

GC3- DEAD.

GC4- DEAD.

GC5- DEAD.

GC6- DEAD.

GC7- DEAD.

GC8- DEAD.

Time to play 8 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP6/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP19/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP17/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP23/23)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 1 (HP-4/24)

Bad Guys 1500XP Level 7 Encounter.
Goblin Cutter Level 1 Minion [GC] (x8) (HP1) 8 DEAD
Goblin Warrior Level 1 Skirmisher [GW] (x5) (HP3/29) 4 DEAD & 1 RAN OFF
Goblin Sharpshooter Level 2 Artillery [GS] (x3) (HP31/31 & 31/31) 1 DEAD
Guard Drake Level 2 Brute [GD] (x2) (HP7/48 & 35/48)
Balgron the Fat Level Level 4 Lurker (Leader) [Balgron] (HP33/46)

Action Points 1 Total 8
Daily Powers 1 Total 5
Healing Surges 0 Total 4
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crits 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: It's a close run thing, I rule that all of the PCs need to make it out of the dungeon, only then will the Goblins et al give up the chase; and then of course they need to stop Phrenic from dying.

Why didnt Kaspard use his healing on Phrenic?
Another thing they could have tried would have been to run around the pit trap in the guard room.
The goblins would have known about it but the blood lusting guard drakes would probably have run right into it.
Saying that, knowing when to retreat is a good skill to have, most parties are do not even consider it, hence TPK situations.

Aran Thule said:

Why didnt Kaspard use his healing on Phrenic?
Another thing they could have tried would have been to run around the pit trap in the guard room.
The goblins would have known about it but the blood lusting guard drakes would probably have run right into it.
Saying that, knowing when to retreat is a good skill to have, most parties are do not even consider it, hence TPK situations.

Click to expand...

Kaspard used a Healing Word on Grey in Turn #3, and his other on Phrenic in Turn #4.

Good call with the Pit Trap.

Stil the fact that they bugged out in time was as you say impressive.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #8 Area 4 Chieftain's Lair & Area 3 Excavation Site

Round #11.

Grey- Ray of Frost GD2; Miss. Run and exit the dungeon.

Winstanley- Shift back. Run and exit the dungeon.

GS1- DEAD.

GS2- Double Move in pursuit.

GS3- Move. Charge Kaspard; Hit 4 damage (15 HP).

GW1- DEAD.

GW2- DEAD.

GW3- DEAD.

GW4- DEAD.

GW5- SURRENDER. He's gone back to his friends.

Balgron- Double Move. Follow up behind the Goblins.

Dirty- Put Phrenic down- Heal check to instigate 2nd Wind Phrenic- Fail.

Kaspard- Shift away. Run and exit the dungeon.

Phrenic- Death Save- '13' Success.

GD1- Gives up the chase.

GD2- Run after PCs and exits the dungeon- emerges into the light- only Kaspard is in proximity, although the other PCs are not far away- realises he's on his own. Runs back into dungeon.

GC1- DEAD.

GC2- DEAD.

GC3- DEAD.

GC4- DEAD.

GC5- DEAD.

GC6- DEAD.

GC7- DEAD.

GC8- DEAD.

Time to play 7 minutes.
Total time to play 1 hour 41 minutes.

End of Combat-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 1 (HP6/31)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 1 (HP15/26)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 1 (HP17/25)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 1 (HP23/23)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 1 (HP-4/24)

Bad Guys 1500XP Level 7 Encounter.
Goblin Cutter Level 1 Minion [GC] (x8) (HP1) 8 DEAD
Goblin Warrior Level 1 Skirmisher [GW] (x5) (HP3/29) 4 DEAD & 1 RAN OFF
Goblin Sharpshooter Level 2 Artillery [GS] (x3) (HP31/31 & 31/31) 1 DEAD
Guard Drake Level 2 Brute [GD] (x2) (HP7/48 & 35/48)
Balgron the Fat Level Level 4 Lurker (Leader) [Balgron] (HP33/46)

Action Points 0 Total 8
Daily Powers 0 Total 5
Healing Surges 0 Total 4
2nd Winds 0 Total 1
Crits 0 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Crits 0 Total 1
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: And then the very next round Grey with help from Winstanley heals Phrenic. And the PCs, tails between their legs, hot foot it back to Winterhaven. That's enough of the Keep on the Shadowfell for now it seems.

Do you do this in you games? Or am I a bad DM? Every now and then and when I want the PCs to understand that this is not going to be a pushover, and when circumstances are just right- two encounters become one. I think I'm compensating for my last game of 4e D&D, in which the PCs ran away with the prize every time. We played something like 60 sessions and in all that time I probably reduced a PC to 0 HP or below on less than ten occasions- in 60 sessions, that doesn't seem right.

You have to understand I'm not out to kill the PCs just run them as close as possible, besides they now have the best reason ever to return to the Keep on the Shadowfell- unfinished business.

And so session 2 draws to a close, once again 4 encounters in about four-and-a-half hours, the PCs will start back in Winterhaven next session, reinvigorated and more to the point all Level 2 characters- now that will be fun. See you then...

Stats: The first fight that the PCs have come second in, this may be worth examining, although... well, it seems what slowed the PCs down here, or rather brought them to abrupt stop, was the fact that they had cleared one encounter (save Balgron), and then had run slap bang into another 'fresh' encounter. They had also expended a lot of their resources in the initial combat encounter (Level 4) which had quite a number of enemies, they were also a little Action Point happy- see previous comments.

So statistically speaking for this encounter, low connection rates, the PCs hit only 51.52% of the time (34 from 66 attacks in total); while the bad guys hit 47.5% of the time (19 from 40 attacks). What is immediately noticeable is that these two stats are not too far apart, and the bad guys made 40 attacks in total, the only other time that had happened was in encounter #4.

This encounter also played a lot slower, perhaps due to the amount of bad guys that were getting in the way and clogging the chamber in the initial combat, or else perhaps because the PCs had to chase after the fleeing Balgron, or indeed because they had to then figure a way to get out- and come to that decision. One hour and forty-one minutes to play out, the longest encounter to date, averaging 9.18 minutes/turn, much up from the average of 7.27 minutes/turn to date.

It's also worth mentioning that this encounter had the most hit points, in total, for all of the bad guys- 388, even encounter #4 with Irontooth only added up to 305 hit points in total. The big hitting combat turns were three and four this time- the PCs had to wait for the Goblins to turn up in force.

Combined Stats: Tomorrow the big stat haul- everything I have for all PC Level 1 Encounters.

My saying for when its time to do the "Tactical Retreat" in game...

We got to get out of this place, even if it's the last thing we ever do...

Tomorrow comes early...

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
PC Level 1 Combat Encounter Stats

Number of Combat Encounters: 8
Encounter Levels: 1 [+0] (x2); 2 [+1] (x4); 6 [+4] (x1) & 7 [+5] (x1).
Average Encounter Level: 2.88
Total Turns of Combat: 56
Total Time to play Combat Encounters: 428 minutes.
Average Time/Encounter: 53.5 minutes
Total Action Points used: 26 (average 3.25/encounter)
Total times PC KO'd (0 HP): 9 (average 1.13/encounter)
Total PC Crits rolled: 6 (average .75/encounter)
Total Healing Surges used: 33 (average 4.33/encounter)
Total Daily Powers used: 16 (average 2/encounter)

Remember for all of the below Phrenic and McGyver have only been in 4 combat encounters each.

PCs Attack Connection Rate (Criteria min. 5 attacks)

15) 33.33% Dirty Spinning Sweep (2 hits/6 attacks) Average 12.5 damage.
14) 41.67% Dirty AoO Maul (5 hits/12 attacks) Average 9.2 damage.
13) 46.67% Kaspard Lance of Faith (7 hits/15 attacks) Average 7 damage.
12) 50% Dirty Reaping Strike (6 hits/12 attacks) Average 14.33 damage.
& 50% Dirty Brute Strike (3 hits/6 attacks) Average 21 damage.
11) 54.29% Grey Scorching Burst (19 hits/35 attacks) Average 7.42 damage.
10) 55.56% Phrenic Viper's Strike (5 hits/9 attacks) Average 6.5 damage.
& 55.56% Dirty Cleave (5 hits/9 attacks) Average 13.8 damage.
9) 57.69% Kaspard Sacred Flame (15 hits/26 attacks) Average 5.47 damage.
8) 59.26% Grey Burning Hands (16 hits/27 attacks) Average 11.13 damage.
7) 62.5% Dirty Charge Maul (10 hits/16 attacks) Average 9.6 damage.
6) 64.29% Grey Magic Missile (9 hits/14 attacks) Average 9.44 damage.
5) 66.67% McGyver Dragon Breath (6 hits/9 attacks) Average 4.67 damage.
& 66.67% Grey Ray of Frost (8 hits/12 attacks) Average 6.5 damage.
4) 77.42% Winstanley Sly Flourish (24 hits/31 attacks) Average 14.5 damage.
3) 80% McGyver Valiant Strike (8 hits/10 attacks) Average 9.13 damage.
2) 83.33% Winstanley Positioning Strike (5 hits/6 attacks) Average 11.6 damage.
1) 100% Winstanley Deft Strike (10 hits/10 attacks) Average 13.3 damage.

Which goes to show the difference between a Striker and a Defender.

Total HP damage inflicted by PCs

94 Phrenic (average 3.24/turn)
145 Kaspard (average 2.59/turn)
195 McGyver (average 7.22/turn)
385 Dirty (average 6.88/turn)
475 Grey (average 8.48/turn)
581 Winstanley (average 10.38/turn)

Total HP damage absorbed by PCs

70 Kaspard (average 1.25/turn)
74 Winstanley (average 1.32/turn)
90 Grey (average 1.61/turn)
119 McGyver (average 4.41/turn)
125 Phrenic (average 4.31/turn)
220 Dirty (average 3.93/turn)

+/- combining the above two set of results.

-31 Phrenic (-1.07/turn)
+75 Kaspard (+1.34/turn)
+76 McGyver (+2.81/turn)
+165 Dirty (+2.95/turn)
+385 Grey (+6.87/turn)
+507 Winstanley (+9.06/turn)

Which means to say that even with a mess of Healing Surges in reserve the PCs are doing something between 19.15 (with Phrenic) and 23.03 (with McGyver) more HP damage/turn than they are taking.

Overall Connection (Hit) Rates/PC

50% Dirty (31 hits from 62 attacks)
53.33% Kaspard (24 hits from 45 attacks)
57.14% Phrenic (12 hits from 21 attacks)
60% Grey (54 hits from 90 attacks)
75% McGyver (21 hits from 28 attacks)
82.69% Winstanley (43 hits from 52 attacks)

Some odd facts-

Most Action Points used: 7 Dirty; Least: 1 Phrenic.
PC KO'd most: Dirty, McGyver, Phrenic & Winstanley (2 each); Least: Kaspard (0)
PC with most Crits: Dirty (4); Least: Grey, Kaspard & Phrenic (0)
Most Healing Surges used: 12 Dirty; Least: 2 Kaspard
Most Daily Powers used: 4 Dirty & Winstanley; Least: 1 Phrenic

Overall PCs Connection Rate: 62.08% (185 hits from 298 attacks)
Bad Guys: 55.29% (94 hits from 170 attacks)

Damage/turn inflicted by PCs: 33.48 HP average
Bad Guys: 12.46 HP average

Most Productive Turns for PCs-
Criteria at least 5 turns played.
Surprise Round 30.8 HP damage on average
Turn #4 33.57 HP damage on average
Turn #3 36 HP damage on average
Turn #2 48.5 HP damage on average
Turn #1 59 HP damage on average

Most Productive Turns for Bad Guys-
Criteria at least 5 turns played.
Turn #4 7.71 HP damage on average
Turn #5 9.6 HP damage on average
Turn #3 11.88 HP damage on average
Turn #2 14.38 HP damage on average
Turn #1 19.25 HP damage on average

Longest Turns to play, in minutes (average)-
Criteria at least 5 turns played.
Surprise Round 6.6
Turn #4 6.86
Turn #3 8.25
Turn #2 8.88
Turn #1 10.63

Most XP earned/turn, in XP (average)-
Criteria at least 5 turns played.
Surprise Round 70
Turn #1 92.88
Turn #2 116.38
Turn #3 140.63
Turn #4 160.71

And some more details about the Encounters-

Level (+0) [Level 1] 2 Encounters played-
Average 4 Turns to play and 31.5 minutes

Level (+1) [Level 2] 4 Encounters played-
Average 6 Turns to play and 43.5 minutes

Level (+5) [Level 6] 1 Encounter played-
Average 13 Turns to play and 90 minutes

Level (+6) [Level 7] 1 Encounter played-
Average 11 Turns to play and 102 minutes

Lastly the PCs pathway through the encounters, by this I mean a look at the Level of the encounters and the extended rests (X) taken.

Level +0 – X – Level +1 – Level +0 – Level +5 – X – Level +1 – X – Leve1 +1 – Level +1 – Level +6 – X

From this we can see that the PCs have only managed to complete three encounters in a row so far before needing an extended rest, however this is in both instances down to them facing much more difficult third encounters. In the first instance the Level 6 Irontooth encounter, in the second set the Level 7 Balgron the Fat double encounter. It is fairly unrealistic to expect a 1st Level party to get through either of this titanic encounters with Daily Powers and Action Points (and all the PCs lives) intact.

Note the last two (the Level +5 and +6 encounters) represent nothing much at this point, except for the fact that it takes a lot longer to play higher level encounters. As the PCs increase in level I will continue to monitor these.

Session 3.
H1 Keep on the Shadowfell

Winterhaven (yet again).

After a day spent resting and recuperating from their previous exertions the PCs are about ready to head back to the Keep on the Shadowfell. However their time in the town has not been all play, firstly they've done a little light shopping, they've all bought mundane equipment, save Kaspard. Kaspard has struck it lucky, it seems her blossoming relationship with Sister Linora at the Church of Avandra has paid off- Sister Linora reveals a Magical Holy Symbol that she's willing to part with for a hefty donation to the 'church roof fund'- 360gp to be exact. And thus Kaspard gets her hands on a +1 Holy Symbol- this was going to be the treasure found in the Excavation Site (Area 3), I figure the PCs should get it after their heroic battle.

The chest that Winstanly picked up from Balgron's bedchamber proves an excellent acquisition- there's lots of gold coins inside and also a +1 Magical Wand, which is now the property of Grey Morlock.

Secondly they've been for another visit with Valthrun the Prescient, the Sage chap they spoke to last time, he has further news- it seems the Keep on the Shadowfell, for that is the name of the place the PCs are exploring, was purported to hold a gate or portal to some dark dimension (the Shadowfell). Valthrun confidently states that whatever 'foul miscreants' occupy the Keep now will 'undoubtedly be working on opening the wretched portal.' Thus the PCs are further charged with investigating the Keep thoroughly and stopping any attempt to open the aforementioned gate. Kaspard swears she will see it done.

And so one more restful night in Winterhaven and then in the morning back to it.

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2

Alas the PCs plans go astray when they awake the next day to screams- the children are missing, the young folk had been sent to the woods in the care of Ninaran, the beautiful Elf, who instigated Dirty's drunken shenanigans. Something is amiss, Ninaran was supposed to be taking the young folk for wood-craft classes- alas both she and the children are overdue, and worse still a caravan drover thought he saw a gaggle of children heading towards Winterhaven Graveyard- a creepy place at the best of times, and no place to take children.

The heroes of the hour are diverted to investigate...




H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #9 The Dead Walk

And so the PCs head straight for the Graveyard, in pursuit of the children of Winterhaven and Ninaran the Elf. Inside the gates of the boneyard all is chaos- faint tracings of magic in the air, some foul ritual has taken place here, and seconds later the dead rise from the earth and catch the PCs, save Dirty, unaware- skeletons, a horde of Decrepit Skeletons, and worse...



The PCs rush to join the fray.

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP29)

Bad Guys 775XP Level 3 Encounter.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minions [DS] (x12) (HP1)
Zombie Gravehound Level 3 Brute [ZG] (x2) (HP54)
Ninaran, Elf Archer Level 4 Artillery [Ninaran] (HP44)

Initiative 23 Dirty 20 Ninaran & Decrepit Skeletons 16 Winstanley 13 Grey 11 Kaspard 8 Phrenic 7 Zombie Gravehounds.

Surprise Round

DS- All Stand.

Dirty- Charge DS1; Hit 13 damage- DEAD.

Ninaran- Longbow Phrenic; Miss.

ZG1- Move towards PCs.

ZG2- Move towards PCs.

Time to play 9 minutes including setting up of minis and map.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP29)

Bad Guys 775XP Level 3 Encounter.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minions [DS] (x12) (HP1) 1 DEAD
Zombie Gravehound Level 3 Brute [ZG] (x2) (HP54)
Ninaran, Elf Archer Level 4 Artillery [Ninaran] (HP44)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 0 Total 0
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 0
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: Here we go again, unleash the Level 2 PCs, they're raring to go...

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #9 The Dead Walk

Round #1.

Dirty- Move. Charge Ninaran Hit 7 damage (37 HP). Marked.

Foolishly I miscalculated in my positioning of Ninaran on the map, I wanted her to be far enough away that she could use her Longbow to great effect, one swift square count later and, well... I got it wrong- Dirty charges in.

Ninaran- Shoulders Bow. Draw Longsword. Longsword Dirty; Hit 10 damage (27 HP).

DS1- DEAD.

DS2- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

DS3- Shortbow Kaspard; Miss.

DS4- Charge Phrenic; Miss.

DS5- Shortbow Kaspard; Hit 3 damage (28 HP).

DS6- Move. Charge Kaspard; Hit 4 damage (24 HP).

DS7- Move. Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS8- Move. Charge Dirty; Miss.

DS9- Move. Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS10- Move. Charge Dirty; Hit 4 damage (23 HP).

DS11- Move. Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS12- Move. Charge Combat Advantage Dirty; Hit 4 damage (19 HP).

Winstanley- Deft Strike DS6; Hit 6 damage- DEAD. Move to Combat Advantage DS2.

Grey- Move. Scorching Burst DS10&12 & ZG1; Hit DS12 8 Fire damage- DEAD & ZG1 8 Fire damage (46 HP).

Kaspard- Move. Lance of Faith DS4; Hit 5 Radiant damage- DEAD. Healing Word +8 HP Dirty (36 HP).

Phrenic- Viper's Strike DS2; Crit 11 damage- DEAD. Move to Support Dirty.

ZG1- Charge Phrenic; Hit 8 damage (21 HP) & ongoing 5 Necrotic damage.

ZG2- Move. Charge Winstanley; Hit 5 damage (25 HP) & ongoing 5 Necrotic damage.

Time to play 12 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP36/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP24/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP25/30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP21/29)

Bad Guys 775XP Level 3 Encounter.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minions [DS] (x12) (HP1) 5 DEAD
Zombie Gravehound Level 3 Brute [ZG] (x2) (HP46/54 & 54/54)
Ninaran, Elf Archer Level 4 Artillery [Ninaran] (HP37/44)

Action Points 0 Total 0
Daily Powers 0 Total 0
Healing Surges 1 Total 1
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 1 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: Lots of enemies, although mainly Minions of course, a real fracas- and the players love the Map. They also think this is going to be a difficult encounter, and so after a short chat Dirty is told to go for it- here come the Daily Powers and Action Points.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #9 The Dead Walk

Round #2.

Dirty- Daily Brute Strike Ninaran; Hit 20 damage (17 HP bloodied). Action Point- Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic extra +2 To Hit & +4 Damage. Cleave Ninaran; Miss. Marked. Daily Unstoppable 10 Temp HP.

Ninaran- Longsword Dirty; Miss. Elven Accuracy- re-roll Longsword Dirty; Miss again.

DS1- DEAD.

DS2- DEAD.

DS3- Shortbow Grey; Hit 3 damage (24 HP).

DS4- DEAD.

DS5- Shortbow Kaspard; Miss.

DS6- DEAD.

DS7- Move. Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS8- Move. Longsword Dirty; Hit 4 damage (36 HP).

DS9- Move. Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS10- Shift. Longsword Combat Advantage Dirty; Miss.

DS11- Shortbow Dirty; Miss.

DS12- DEAD.

Winstanley- 5 Necrotic damage (20 HP). Daily Bloodcut Armour Resist 10 All till end next turn. Positioning Strike ZG2; Hit 11 damage (43 HP) & Slide 3. Shift to Combat Advantage over ZG1. Action Point- Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic extra +2 To Hit & +4 Damage. Daily Trick Strike Combat Advantage ZG2; Hit 29 damage (14 HP bloodied). Save vs ongoing Necrotic damage- Success.

Grey- Move. Burning Hands DS10-11 & ZG1; Hit all DS10-11 15 Fire damage each- both DEAD & ZG1 15 Fire damage (31 HP).

Kaspard- Healing Strike Combat Advantage ZG2; Hit 9 Radiant damage +5 (Vulnerable) = 14 damage- DEAD & Healing Surge +3 HP Winstanley- FULL. Move. Action Point- Tactical Presence/Assault from Phrenic extra +2 To Hit & +4 Damage. Turn Undead ZG1 DS7-8; Hit DS7 18 Radiant damage- DEAD & ZG1 18 Radiant damage +5 (Vulnerable) =23 damage (8 HP bloodied).

Phrenic- 5 Necrotic damage (16 HP). Daily Lead the Attack ZG1; Hit 21 damage- DEAD. Move. Action Point. Scorching Burst DS3&5; Hit both DS3&5 5 Fire damage- both DEAD. Save vs ongoing Necrotic damage- Success.

ZG1- DEAD.

ZG2- DEAD.

Time to play 18 minutes.

End of Round-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP36/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP24/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30/30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP24/27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP16/29)

Bad Guys 775XP Level 3 Encounter.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minions [DS] (x12) (HP1) 10 DEAD
Zombie Gravehound Level 3 Brute [ZG] (x2) (HP54) 2 DEAD
Ninaran, Elf Archer Level 4 Artillery [Ninaran] (HP17/44)

Action Points 4 Total 4
Daily Powers 5 Total 5
Healing Surges 1 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: And the PCs drop the bomb again, a Daily Power and Action Point frenzy, certainly too much for a Level 3 Encounter to handle. This is going to be a walk in the park for them- and why not, every now and then a little mindless violence is sure to put a smile on the player's faces.

H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
Encounter #9 The Dead Walk

Round #3.

Dirty- Spinning Strike Ninaran; Miss. Marked.

Ninaran- Longsword Dirty; Hit 9 damage (33 HP). Dirty laughs at the Elf- 'is that all you've got?'

DS1- DEAD.

DS2- DEAD.

DS3- DEAD.

DS4- DEAD.

DS5- DEAD.

DS6- DEAD.

DS7- DEAD.

DS8- Shift. Longsword Combat Advantage Dirty; Miss.

DS9- Shortbow Kaspard; Miss.

DS10- DEAD.

DS11- DEAD.

DS12- DEAD.

Winstanley- Move. Sly Flourish Combat Advantage DS8; Miss.

Grey- Shift. Magic Missile Ninaran; Hit 11 Force damage (6 HP) SURRENDER.

Kaspard- Lance of Faith DS9; Hit 7 Radiant damage- DEAD.

Phrenic- Move. Leaf on the Wind DS8; Hit 6 damage- DEAD.

ZG1- DEAD.

ZG2- DEAD.

Time to play 4 minutes.
Total time to play 43 minutes.

End of Combat-

Good Guys
Dirty Biskit, Male Dwarven Fighter 2 (HP33/37)
Kaspard, Female Half-Elf Cleric of Bahamut 2 (HP24/31)
Winstanley Portico, Male Halfling Rogue 2 (HP30/30)
Grey Morlock, Male Human Wizard 2 (HP24/27)
Phrenic, Male Tiefling Warlord 2 (HP16/29)

Bad Guys 775XP Level 3 Encounter.
Decrepit Skeleton Level 1 Minions [DS] (x12) (HP1) 12 DEAD
Zombie Gravehound Level 3 Brute [ZG] (x2) (HP54) 2 DEAD
Ninaran, Elf Archer Level 4 Artillery [Ninaran] (HP6/44) SURRENDERED

Action Points 0 Total 4
Daily Powers 0 Total 5
Healing Surges 0 Total 2
2nd Winds 0 Total 0
Crits 0 Total 1
PCs Ko'd 0 Total 0
Bad Guys Action Points 0 Total 0

Comment: That was a massacre, Ninaran couldn't get away- I mean, well, she could but I figured Dirty would probably hit her hard and... that'd be the end of her. Stupidly I counted out before hand how far I would have to put Ninaran back from the PCs for them not to be able to get to her with a move-charge manoeuvre, obviously I miscalculated.

Ninaran is taken back to Winterhaven, but not before the rest of the Graveyard is thoroughly investigated- Grey discovers the residue of a Magical Ritual, he divines that the Ritual provided the power for the Undead to rise. The power source being the lives of the children of Winterhaven- this is not going to go down well with the townsfolk.

Back in Winterhaven the PCs discover, by searching Ninaran and a (minor) Skill Challenge to extract further information, that as Valthrun stated (very Prescient), some terrible act is taking place in the Keep on the Shadowfell, an emissary (Kalarel) of some fell Lord is even now seeking to reopen the portal. They do however have the password which will enable them to safely enter the lower level of the dungeon- and they remember seeing a set of stairs down in the Excavation Site- next stop there.

One encounter in a day, not very satisfying I know, and no risk- but the story survives and besides I will undoubtedly throw another double encounter at them some time soon- for all I care the PCs can get their kicks where and when they can- I see violent interludes in their near future.

As for Ninaran, the good citizens of Winterhaven almost storm the gaol, there's nothing for it. Lord Padraig orders Ninaran to be hanged for her crimes later the same day- justice is very swift. The PCs see it done, and in the Lords speech afterwards they are charged (no money involved) to rid the town of this dark menace that squats in the shadow and grows powerful. Phrenic, Kaspard & Dirty attest that they will see it done.

The next day the PCs head back to the Keep...

Stats: An absolute massacre, the PCs hit rate 81.48% (22 hits in 27 attacks), as opposed to the monsters with 34.62% (9 hits from 26 attacks), just confirms the one-sided nature of the conflict. The PCs dished out 68.25 hit points damage, on average, per turn; the bad guys only 15.

The mad Action Point and Daily turn- turn #3, saw the PCs do 191 hit points damage, that's approx. 70% of the total damage the PCs dished out- in one turn. Dirty managed to take the brunt of the monsters hits, 16 of their 26 attacks targeted the Dwarven Defender.

No grind, just a massacre.

Combined Stats: Well that's the PCs first encounter as Level 2, and a walk-over. Winstanley has now inflicted a total of 627 points of damage in nine encounters, that's nearly 70 damage/encounter. Grey is lagging a little behind in second place with 547 damage (average 60.77); while in third is Dirty with 425 damage (average 47.22), not bad for a Defender with a 50.75% connection rate over all.

Phrenic is at last in the positive, having inflicted 4 more points of damage than he has suffered (142 dished out, 138 taken). Kaspard and Grey have still not found the '20' on the dice, and Kaspard has still not visited 0 HP, the only PC not to have done so.

Turns 1 & 2 are still seemingly all action with the highest average amounts of damage done, 57.44 & 64.33 respectively for the PCs and 20.89 & 14.67 for the bad guys. They're still the longest to play on average at 10.78 & 9.89 minutes each.

The last encounter was by far the best XP earner per turn for the PCs, at 193.75 XP/turn, the next best was Encounter #1 with 158.33 XP/turn- another Daily Power & Action Point frenzy.

After 9 Combat Encounters, average Encounter level 3.78, the PCs are doing the business in on average 6.67 turns of play, each turn lasting on average 7.85 minutes for a total encounter completion time of 52.33 minutes.